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  • The Way Home: GUTM Spring Forward Bivvy Weekend Part Two

    The Way Home: GUTM Spring Forward Bivvy Weekend Part Two

    This is Part 2 of my ride report from the recent Grass Up The Middle Spring Forward Bivvy Weekend. For Part 1, click here. It was a clear morning when I woke from my slumber, I slept as well as I expected – not as good as I do in a real bed, but not […]

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    Matt Martin

    April 5, 2022
    Blog, Ride Report
    Grass Up The Middle, GUTM, NCN71
  • My first overnight adventure!

    My first overnight adventure!

    I finally got my act in order and went on an adventure, with many thanks to Grass Up The Middle for organising their Spring Forward Bivvy Weekend event. We cycled from Sale to Macclesfield forest and spent a night under the stars in our bivy bags. I wrote up an article about it when I […]

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    Matt Martin

    April 4, 2022
    Blog, Ride Report
  • On Setting Goals

    On Setting Goals

    I didn’t really set any goals or resolutions at the start of this year. I kind of just let last year’s resolutions roll over, and the only bike related one was a rather non-committal nudge to ‘ride more’. Whilst that had worked to some degree, the idea of using more specific challenges and goals as […]

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    Matt Martin

    March 11, 2022
    Blog, Goals
    Goals, Resolutions
  • Lessons from Midnite Bicycle League

    Lessons from Midnite Bicycle League

    Wow, things have been really busy lately. Work has been unusually demanding for this early in the year. After Christmas, I opened up a real can of worms by finally starting work on fixing up the upstairs of our house. I expected it to be bad (that’s probably the reason I’d been putting it off […]

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    Matt Martin

    March 5, 2022
    Blog, Ride Report
    Mercian King of Mercia, Midnite Bicycle League, Shawn Granton
  • Mercian: Initial Thoughts

    Mercian: Initial Thoughts

    I don’t really know what possessed me to want another bike – the Kona Sutra and the Wayfarer were already covering all of my needs – but you know how it is. I’d been toying with the idea of a hand built English touring bike for a while, since before the Sutra came along to […]

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    Matt Martin

    January 23, 2022
    Bike, Modifications
    English Touring Bike, Mercian King of Mercia
  • Bicycle Safety Manual 1969

    Bicycle Safety Manual 1969

    I stumbled across this beautifully drawn, but incredibly scary, bicycle safety manual from 1969. I forgot how I came across it so I can’t link to the tipster but it was probably one of the blogs or newsletters I follow. If you want to be put off cycling for life then you can find it […]

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    Matt Martin

    November 25, 2021
    Blog
    Bike Safety, Vintage
  • Clarijs Panniers Review

    Clarijs Panniers Review

    Clarijs is a dutch company that’s been in business since 1948, starting out as a saddlery, before moving into boat sails, and more recently bike bags. I am reliably informed that it is pronounced ‘Cla-rice’ – ‘Cla’ as in clap, ‘Rice’ as in the fluffy white stuff you eat with a delicious curry. It was […]

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    Matt Martin

    November 20, 2021
    Gear Review, Modifications
    Bags, Clarijs, Luggage
  • Chester to Delamere

    Chester to Delamere

    I’ve already fallen behind on writing up ride reports. The weather has just been so great recently that I’ve spent every spare moment I’ve had out on the bike so I can’t feel too bad about it. A couple of Sundays ago I took a ride up to Delamere forest on the Sutra and took […]

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    Matt Martin

    November 20, 2021
    Ride Report
    Delamere Forest, Millenium Greenway
  • Night rider

    Night rider

    The clocks went back here last weekend, which meant for one day only I got an extra hour in bed (yay) but for the rest of winter the sun will set an hour earlier (boo). I really want to try my best to continue riding over winter this year. Last year I managed to make […]

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    Matt Martin

    November 5, 2021
    Ride Report
    NCN 568, Raleigh Wayfarer
  • First few mods on the Wayfarer

    First few mods on the Wayfarer

    I mentioned in my last post that I’d already made a few mods to the Wayfarer. The first thing I did was replace the original whitewall Raleigh Record tyres with a similar modern equivalent, the Schwalbe Delta Cruiser – everyone seems to agree that it’s the best bang for the buck in the 26 x […]

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    Matt Martin

    November 2, 2021
    Bike, Modifications
    3 Speed, Raleigh Wayfarer
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